Promax BDA: The Daily Brief

‘A Little Forward’ Sets the Tone at Freeform

Cate Lecuyer Marian | 01.19.2018

“A Little Forward”—It’s both a direction and an attitude, and a defining brand shift at Freeform, which revealed the new tagline, along with a new logo, as part of a strategy to further position the network to target the upcoming generation of “becomers.”

The new logo features the lowercase letters “ff” inside a blue circle on a black background.

Freeform President Tom Ascheim revealed the revamp at the first-ever Freeform Summit Thursday in Los Angeles.

“At Freeform, we’re purposefully and passionately moving our brand forward by defying expectations and dismantling conventions; busting stereotypes of theme, cast and culture in service to a more inclusive world on and off screen,” he said at the event.

“It’s the direction one hurls an asshole through a windshield,” according to the spot. “But it’s also the attitude of the hurler.”

The makeover comes days after the second anniversary of ABC Family’s rebrand into Freeform, and “A Little Forward” is the network’s first tagline since the change.

The rebrand in 2016 stressed the importance of “becomers,” the 18-34-year-old demographic of viewers, “primarily at the magical point between their first kiss and first kid, full of possibilities,” as PromaxBDA has reported.

The tone is captured in shows such as The Bold Type, Famous in Love, Siren and Grown-ish—the later of which Freeform announced an early renewal for season two.

The Black-ish spinoff follows the Johnson’s eldest daughter Zoey (Yara Shahidi) as she navigates her freshman year of college at CalU.

Grown-ish premiered January 3 and has been the network’s highest rated comedy debut in nearly six years, and its best overall series since Shadowhunters, which is preparing for a season three premiere on March 20.

Freeform also revealed plans for a Party of Five reboot with original creators Chris Keyser and Amy Lippman that will focus on the Buendias children after their parents are suddenly deported back to Mexico.

And the network is developing period drama Cleopatra about the historic Egyptian ruler, and Augs, set in the near-future where society is divided into two classes: the Augs who are connected to an augmented reality world by being able to afford the latest technological and biological enhancements, and the lower class Norms, who cannot.

Freeform also dropped a trailer for Siren and new series Marvel’s Cloak & Daggerpremiering June 7.